


Dead by starlight

by siren_of_the_ocean



Series: Tim Drake AU's [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Danny Phantom, Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Danny Fenton Is So Done, Danny fenton needs sleep, Gen, Protective Tim Drake, Sam manson is the mom friend, Tim Drake is Red Robin, Tim Drake is a coffee gremlin, Tim Drake-centric, Tucker Foley is a good friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 18:54:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25630168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siren_of_the_ocean/pseuds/siren_of_the_ocean
Summary: It was just supposed to be a quick stop. For coffee. That's it.Now Tim has to deal with ghosts, superheroes, Superhero ghosts and Team Phantom. While also relatively sure that he's hallucinating.
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Sam Manson, Danny Fenton & Tucker Foley, Danny Fenton & Tucker Foley & Sam Manson, Danny fenton & Tim Drake, Danny fenton & coffee, Tim Drake & Coffee - Relationship
Series: Tim Drake AU's [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1853161
Comments: 17
Kudos: 351





	Dead by starlight

"Am I hallucinating? I'm hallucinating aren't I?" Tim asks, head tilted upwards to the sky. 

The sky where 2 figures are currently fighting. Which is not abnormal for Tim. If the one figure wasn't a robot with a green mohawk and the other hadn't just yelled "OK BOOMER!" at their opponent. 

He can't even see most of the fight, since he's watching from a doorway but it's just too weird to be real. I mean. The robot just yelled "Whelp" like Damian yells "Drake" and threatened to skin his opponent to "hang his pelt on his wall". This was past Gotham weird. Or at least, a less dark form of Gotham weird. 

"When was the last time I slept? Ate? Did someone gas me? Am I on Fear or something?" Tim continues to babble, even as a girl from behind the register stares at him in undisguised horror. Tim can even see her staring at his order in renewed horror. 

One of the nearby teenagers decides that he obviously isn't going to move under his own power and tugs him further into the room. "You're not hallucinating. Those are ghosts and they can seriously hurt you" one girl with Auburn hair says, huddling under the table. 

She seems scared. A logical choice. But Tim grew up in Gotham. The city is not full of gas, on fire or being torn apart by plants. Anything else can be dealt with when Tim has coffee. 

"Don't worry about her. She's new in town. Welcome to Amity park" another girl says, sitting down at the bench with a cup and a bagel. In fact, most of the people in the small coffeeshop seem to be going about their daily lives. 

Some are sitting at the tables, drinking their coffee. The barista is still serving up one girl's complicated order. The only people who seem to be paying any attention to the commotion outside, seem to be filming it. 

The white haired teenager yells "You know what, you're getting a week in the thermos for that one", before a flash of light comes from that direction. Soon after, the patrons of the small establishment start to cheer. Guess the fight's over then. 

Tim stands, grabs his order, still looking out the windows, waiting for something else to happen. But nothing does. The barista hands him his cup with a sympathetic smile and the teenager from before cackles when he glances warily out the door before leaving. 

Outside is about the same. People walking along the road, almost absentmindedly avoiding the scorch marks that presumably came from the fight. Even as he looks, people are already cleaning up the damage. 

Trucks driving down the road to fill in the holes in the tar, businesses washing the scorch marks from their walls, even one person attempting to get some form of green gel from a stoplight. 

"What the fuck?" Tim asks himself, jumping when someone answers from behind him. "New in town?" the girl asks, as Tim spins around to face her. 

The girl is short, with black hair dyed with purple streaks and gothic style clothing. She's smirking at Tim, her hip cocked to the side. Next to her is a dark skinned boy, a red beret on his head and a technological device in his hand that Tim doesn't recognize. 

"Uh yeah actually. I was just meant to pass through but I had to...." Tim trails off while gesturing with his coffee cup. The two look him over, noticing his dark eye bags and dropping posture. "Yeah" Tim says, taking a sip from his coffee, the bitterness and caffeine waking him up just a bit. 

"Hey guys!" another voice calls as another boy comes into view. He has black hair, blue eyes and a white shirt featuring a red oval. He looks about as exhausted as Tim feels. 

In sympathy, Tim lets out a sound of acknowledgment to the boy, who's eyes linger on Tim's coffee cup. He'd have to fight me for it, Tim decides, taking another sip from his cup. 

"Sorry. Long day. Long week really. Who are you?" the boy asks, eyes still drooping slightly. Tim decides to do something nice and starts walking back to the coffee shop. If they decide to give him information on this insanity, that would be great as well. 

"My name is Tim. I'm actually just passing through town but uh. I saw some people fighting in the sky and might have thought I was hallucinating from sleep deprivation" 

"Ah. I get that. My name's Danny. Pleasure to meet you Tim. How long are you staying?" Danny asks, instinctually following Tim as he walks, not even seeming to realise that he's following a stranger to some unknown location. 

The other 2 follow. The goth girl scoffing at them while the boy just let's out a small laugh at his friend's misfortune. After Tim reaches the coffeeshop, he orders 2 more black coffees to go before turning back to Danny. 

"Well I was only supposed to be here for a few hours but I honestly thought I was hallucinating so I called to let my boss know that I'd be taking a few days to rest" Tim lies, watching Danny's facial expression before relaxing when Danny just hums. 

There's silence again until the barista hands Tim his 2 new coffees, taking the 1 now empty cup to throw away. She seems genuinely worried, Tim notes. Probably since he just had 7 espresso shots and is now ordering another 2 black coffees. Tim then offers Danny the 1 coffee, cradling the other. That, Tim notes, does get the barista to relax a smidge. 

Danny blinks at the coffee cup for a moment before the goth girl elbows him, prompting a rushed out "Thanks" before he starts to drain the whole thing. The girl shakes her head for a moment before turning back to Tim. 

"Sorry about him. I'm Sam. This is Tucker. We're both pleased to meet you and very thankful that you imbibed Danny with his hourly caffeine intake" Sam says, seeming almost disapproving of the coffee. Tim won't stand for that and apparently neither will Danny. 

They turn to Sam in unison before taking a deep sip of their cups. Spite coffee always tastes the best after all. Then they turn to each other and smile. 

"So. Where are you planning on staying? You said you weren't supposed to be here long" Danny asks, seeming more awake now. "I'll find a hotel here somewhere. Should only be staying for a day or 2" Tim answers, already pulling out his phone to look for hotels in the area. 

Tucker seems to perk up when he looks at Tim's phone but one look from Sam apparently smothers all his questions. He still looks mutinous though, especially when Tim starts naming hotel names within seconds. 

Sam, Tucker and Danny continue to talk to and around Tim while he books a reservation at a hotel in the middle of the city. Then they offer to show him the way there. 

"Sorry. I drove my bike here so I should drive to the hotel" Tim says, not quite being able to verbalize that he doesn't want his bike to get stolen. He likes the bike and he doesn't know the town, he'll be cautious. So he starts walking towards the parking lot. 

You could see his bike immediately. Bright red. Expensive. And surrounded by bike and car enthusiasts. The Ducati definitely wasn't the most subtle thing he owned. But this was supposed to be a quick trip and he definitely wasn't supposed to stop at any small towns where he could get noticed. 

"This is me. Thanks for the offer to take me to my hotel, though I wouldn't mind knowing if there's anything else to do around here" Tim says, hoping to get an offer to show him around tomorrow. 

Tucker was apparently easy to manipulate, since he readily agreed. Well, as long as he got to take a look at the bike. And Tim's phone. Sam glares at Tucker for a second before saying there really wasn't much to do. 

"But since you don't really know what to do during ghost attacks, it's probably better for someone who does know to be around" Tucker argues. This sets off a small argument, which somehow leads to meat versus vegetarian and then to Veganism.

Danny eventually negotiates a compromise, saying that they'd show Tim around tomorrow and probably help him keep safe from ghosts. Though Danny stated very clearly "I have a very deep fear of ghosts and thus, if one shows up, I'll probably go off to hide. Don't think too much of it." 

That was curious. Though the ghosts from earlier seemed to have caused minimal damage, Tim would not assume that all of them were that way. It's quite possible that Danny had PTSD from a previous attack. Many Gothamites had at least one villain that they had a bad experience with. 

So Tim agrees, saying that he'd be staying at the Continental hotel. Then he hands Danny the empty coffee cup to throw away and starts up his bike. A few spectators whistle and yell when he starts it but none of Danny's group seem bothered by his obvious wealth. 

On the way to the hotel, Tim decides to make a call. He connects his helmet to the comms in the cave and logs through a call. 

"Hey Bruce"

"Tim. How was the trip?" 

"Trip was good thanks. I'm gonna need a day or two extra though" 

"Why? Did something happen?" 

"No nothing bad happened. I just found something interesting" 

xxxxx

At the hotel, Tim cracks down. He orders a frankly alarming amount of energy drinks and coffee to his room. Well alarming to the staff, apparently, since they had him repeat his order 4 times and confirm it to the manager. 

Tim then sets up his laptop and starts running a search for Amity park. 

First thing that comes up is a tourist thing. Most haunted place on earth. Then, digging deeper, he finds Federal funding. A bit deeper and he finds multiple reports from people around town as well as from out of town. 

Reports about the ghost attacks. All from a secret governmental branch nicknamed the "Guys in white". 

Tim goes through them all. From the first, "I mean...a giant figure made of meat? That attacked a vegan vs meat rally? And was apparently a lunch lady. Oh and she apparently has a child with some other ghost. Ghost reproduction, isn't that interesting."

To the last "Plasmius? Who even chooses these names? The only real thing I can think of is plasma and...I dunno ius. And he decides to threaten the town into paying him millions for a task he can't even complete? How did no-one know about this?!" 

He learns that the ghost from earlier is named Skulker. A ghost that enjoys hunting other ghosts, especially rare ones. Whether someone is paying him for it or not. Apparently in a relationship with Ember, the singer, who is also a ghost. 

He also learns a LOT about the white haired ghost boy. His preferred name being Danny Phantom. Apparently the hero of the town. A few black marks on his history, though those have been explained away and pardoned. Fights the ghosts that invade Amity park. 

Tim then starts to look into the town's inhabitants. Starting with Sam. Full name being Samantha Manson. From one of the richest families in town, which explains why the group wasn't phased by his phone or bike. Super recyclo vegetarian. Very concerned with global warming and the environment. School record is good barring a few detentions for pranks and other teenage shenanigans. Parents don't approve of her Gothic lifestyle, which is most likely why Sam does it. But then. Then Tim finds out about Undergrowth. Very much like Poison Ivy, Tim muses as he reads through his file again. Sam was taken over by Undergrowth and almost...turned into a Poison Ivy-like creature. Huh. 

Tucker was easier to reasearch. He has a strong online presence. Full name Tucker Foley. Friends with Sam and Danny from a young age. Frequent target for bullying. Loves meat and eating meat and cooking meat. Seems to be the opposite of Sam in that regard. Digging further, Tim finds traces of Tucker's hacking ability. Huh. Again strong school presence with only a few detentions, almost always given by a Mr. Lancer. And Tucker was once almost turned into a ghost be Desiree, a wish granting ghost that twists the wish on it's head. Also interesting. 

Then Danny. And wow. This causes some revelations. Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom? Are you serious? And they even look the same. Colours inverted but that's really all. His school record has more holes than any actual data but he still does fairly well. Target of bullying from a school jock, who has been the unfortunate victim of some pranks that aren't possible for a human. With every fact, the evidence just grows. 

So Tim sits back in his chair and sighs. These kids are going to get hurt. And Danny isn't doing the greatest job of hiding his secret identity. It has been a couple of years and Tim understands that. Danny can probably take care of himself by now. But backup and contacts never hurt anyone. 

Tim resolves to go out as Red Robin tonight. To try and spot Danny, give him some advice and his contact for emergencies. Maybe patrol the area and see a few more fights between ghosts. The only one he has seen before was when Secret was still on Joung Justice. 

And as the sun sets, bringing the dark veil over the town, Tim gets dressed and takes to the rooftops. Unfortunately there are no skyscrapers in Amity park. In fact, most of the town consists of one story buildings and houses, with the hotel as a high point. Makes for easy but boring rooftop running. 

Tim decides to go through the city in a grid pattern since he doesn't know the highest crime or I guess highest ghost areas. Combing through the city seems like the only logical way to get through it all and possibly get results. 

It's on the fourth block that something finally happens. All the civilians seem to be in their houses by now. Tim hasn't even seen a crime for the night. No muggings, no burglaries, nothing. Not even petty vandalism. 

So when yelling starts up a few blocks from him, he heads to follow. What he sees causes him to stop and watch. 

It's Danny Phantom fighting the ghost that the files called The Box Ghost. The guys in white deemed him to be low priority and barely even a threat. And it seems like Danny agrees. 

"Fear me!" the box ghost yells, as Danny's eyes visibly lose the will to live. "Yeah yeah. I am the box ghost. I love boxes. Fear me. Yadda Yada Bleh. Try again when I've actually managed 6 hours of sleep" Danny says with no inclination to his voice. 

He sounds really tired, Tim thinks as Danny pulls out a cylinder that somehow sucks in the box ghost. Once Danny is done capping the lid, still grumbling to himself while looking at the ground, Tim drops down to land in front of him. Silently. 

When Danny looks up, he doesn't seem to see Tim for a second before his green eyes widen and he let's out a startled yell. He even flails back before Tim steadies him, not wanting to see what happens when the cylinder breaks. 

"Who are you? Are you a new ghost? Please tell me you aren't a new ghost" Danny basically begs, as he pinches the bridge of his nose. At that, Tim's lips can't help bit twitch up into a smile. Or at least a smirk. 

"Not a ghost. Human. Nice to meet you Danny Phantom" Tim says, still keeping an eye on Danny's body language. "Uh yeah. Nice to meet you too. Who are you?" Danny asks, seemingly not having had enough sleep to be subtle. 

"I'm Red Robin. A hero from Gotham. I heard about you and wanted to come see for myself" Tim answers, as Danny's eyes start dropping. At Red Robin's name though, they go wide "Wait. Red Robin as in Robin? As in Batman and Robin? As in the Justice league?!" Danny asks, well more panics really. 

Again, Tim's lips twitch into a smile as he answers "Yes, I was Robin. Yes I work with Batman. Yes I occasionally work with the justice league. Though I work with young justice much more often" Tim answers. He can hear a soft squeal coming from Danny's ear so he's likely wearing a comm. Probably going to Sam and Tucker. 

"So. Uh. Why. Why are you here?" Danny asks, voice pitched much higher than before. "I'm actually here to offer a tip. Don't name your hero name after your civilian identity, Danny Fenton. It's much too obvious. And also. I'm here to give you my contact into for incase you ever need it" Tim says. 

Danny's eyes widen when he mentions his hero name and he immediately drops into a fighting stance when Tim says his civilian name, the screaming from his comm becoming panicked. Then, when Tim offers his contact information, Danny falters. He accepts the card that Tim hands him and looks over the information. 

"Thank you. You aren't going to tell anyone, are you?" Danny asks after a stretch of silence and Tim immediately shakes his head. He would never reveal an unwilling Hero's identity. Never. "No. I won't tell anyone. But that card has my comm number, the number for the batcave and the emergency line for the Justice League watchtower" Tim answers. 

Danny glances between the card and Tim for a moment before taking a deep breath and nodding "Thank you" he intones. And it's so different from Danny earlier in the day that Tim has to comment. 

"Remember to get enough rest. Coffee is not a replacement for sleep" Tim says, you know like a hypocrite and a liar. Danny takes him seriously though, nodding along, his eyes wide. 

When Danny almost crashes into an air duct the next second, Tim laughs. "Go home. Get some rest. I'll be doing the same and should be out of your hair by tonight" he says, Danny's panicked expression giving him a boost. 

Then, Red Robin grapples onto a nearby roof and takes off. Tim makes several turns and loops and long ways around to try and see if anyone followed him. He can't see anyone and he doesn't get the feeling that he's being watched so he heads back to his hotel room. 

Like he warned Danny about, he crashes almost as soon as his head hits the pillow, notes scattered around his bed and his laptop still open by his side. 

The next day, the trio meets Tim at his hotel to pick him up. They decide to take him to some place called Nasty Burger for breakfast. "Nasty Burger? That just seems like bad marketing. You're calling your own product nasty" Tim says, frowning at the sign. 

"Do not disrespect the Nasty Burger. They got the best Burgers in town!" Tucker yells, as Sam sighs next to him. "At least I got them to add a vegetarian option" she mentions and Danny discreetly gags behind her. Tucker doesn't bother to be discreet and gets punched in the stomach. 

Since Sam's punches seem to be as strong as Steph's, Tim winces in sympathy before following them in. He orders a mirror of what Tucker and Danny order and sits down with them. 

"I'm going to head back to work by the end of the day. Called my boss and told him it was a mistake. I really did see what I saw. So he expects me back at work soon" Tim says, which is true. Tim had called Bruce earlier this morning and told him about the young hero of Amity Park. Bruce had expected a full report done on Danny Phantom by the end of tomorrow. 

"That's too bad, dude" Tucker comments around a mouthful of burger, which earns him a stomp of Sam's foot on his. While the other 2 scuffle around, Danny turns to Tim and thanks him for yesterday's coffee, saying that it was a lifesaver for him. And Tim believes him. Danny looks much better today, at least. 

They spend the rest of the day in and around tha Nasty burger and some of the stores around it. Then, the trio sends him off at the end of the day. 

A week later, Sam almost breaks down Danny's door while he and Tucker play Doomed. She screeches incomprehensibly before throwing a newspaper at them to read. 

On the front page, it reads: Sizable donation made by Wayne Enterprises for a new ghost defence system. The article makes it clear that Wayne enterprises would not allow the system to be used against the town's resident hero, Danny Phantom. 

But what catches all their attention is the picture. In it, is the man they met the week before, who gave Danny coffee, Tim. The man is handing a cheque to the new town mayor with the description underneath reading 'CEO of Wayne Enterprises, Tim Drake hands a donation cheque to town Mayor Mr Micheals'. This has all of them screeching.


End file.
